when i visit v.a. hospitals and i talked to the people that use the v.a. hospitals, the veterans and family members and they tell me how much they love the v.a. and how much they wanted to continue, they wanted to be a place where they can go in get the care they need. when you look at that and you talk to the staff -- the staff i see working in v.a. hospitals love our veterans. i know they can go other places in work and make more money, but because they care so much about our veterans and want to get back to our veterans of this country, they are there working on our behalf. when you look at the entire system, put that altogether, it is an amazing task. it is a daunting task. i just wish whoever is in the position can continue to reach out to veterans service organizations and our nation so veterans keep their years in eyes open and keep the right people in place and they get the right people in place. donovan: this is donovan. -- there ask about appears to be a generational divide when it comes to the v.a. and veterans service organizations like the ame

as i visit v.a.pitals, and i get to talk to the people who use the va hospital, the family members, they tell us how much they love the v.a. and want it to continue, they want it to be a place where they can go and get the care that they need. when you look at that, when you talk to staff also, the staff people i see working in va hospitals love our veterans. i know that they can go other places and work and make more money, but because they care so much about our veterans and wanting to give back to the veterans, they are there working on our behalf. when you look at the entire system, it is an amazing task. it is a daunting task. i just wish whoever is in that position can continue to reach out to organizations in our nation and to keep their years and eyes open and they keep and get the right people in place. today." i just want to ask about -- there appears to be something of the generational divide when it comes to the v.a. and the service organizations like the american legion. my understanding

being in the v.a. health care system access track what is needed, and look conversation may be needed for health care issues. >> you are the first female commander of the american legion. what do you think that visibility has done for women veterans? >> it has a little bit. there are misconceptions about the american legion. is wejor thing about us are funded almost -- founded almost 100 years ago. when they found her organization they understood that a veteran was a veteran. forwomen could vote national commander of the american legion before they could vote for the president of the american -- of the united states. have been in leadership positions in our veteran service organizations for years. but time for a female commander, male or female to be the national commander is an amazing feat. the same with the challenges you have. women veterans are about 20% the americann legion it is 5% of our membership. you have some opportunity for growth. many of them really are younger veterans and there seems t

but the v.a. when you think about 13 million people, you could take the head of the biggest hospital corporation of the world and it's peanuts compared to the v.a., so nobody has experience, you know. it's a big monster and i'm really proud of the job we've done for the v.a. because we got -- we're working right now on choice and really big, but we got rid of so many rules and regulations that made it impossible and we're doing great at the v.a., but i want somebody that's going to be great. he would have done a great job. >> let's bring back political analyst john avalon and david gregory and we have former fbi agent josh campbell who worked as a special assistant to james comey. this isn't on me, it's on the democrats and the media, nobody is qualified to run the v.a. said the president of the united states, and that he went to ronny jackson, ronny jackson didn't come to him and said, wow, you ran a great operation here, he would have been great and john tester, the democrat senator from montana

of time so i can make with your golden rule the v.a. system itself means that about forty five years work only gets no benefits where after ten years i don't get the benefits it was or i think the v.a. should take more. be more responsible with these guys because they have already put their lives on the line for us why would we. not give them the proper medical attention that they need why give them an appointment three months out and then. send it through you know prolong it even more to maybe. eight months nine months a year and then even fighting for their benefits if they don't feel that way then book person twelve months of them coming back and he doesn't get a diagnosis forget it they're screwed because they don't see it act it's service related service connected the burden of proof is on the veteran they have to be able to service connected it doesn't matter whether you have it or not or the condition can happen during the day you enter to the left that's the big window that you have to fight with. iraq afghanistan war injury is

filing for the claim itself to the v.a. itself to two kids either compensated or to get medical treatment. is going to home. they. are not there to help you are what they say. most of their employees are angry and surly and nasty. they tell like them i don't like going there i always thought that they would have the best care and the realities of it after. down on they me it depends on who you get is it provided with the bureaucracy at the v.a. for me is what has been a nightmare to deal with getting bills from the labs for a thousand two thousand dollars for blood work and staff call in the v.a. tell them i'm keep getting these bills call in the lab company tell the v.a. supposed to pay these bills and they don't and you're already sick with chemo and radiation all sudden all these bills are coming and nobody's paying them. i mean it's awful i mean right now we're quarter million dollars in debt from cancer. we're bankrupt. and the v.a. still denies my claim that it's not all of this not from exposures. the politicians the

there is a v.a.ntry that is not treating veterans in a timely manner, allow them to go to the private sector. that is the case now. that has always been the case. but what the koch brothers want what i fear the trump administration wants is to rip that wide open to take -- we have $200 billion veterans budget, special corporate into that want big chunk we must not allow that to happen. >> brennan: have to take a quick break we'll talk to you on the other side of it. we'll be right back. you wouldn't accept an incomplete job from any one else. so why accept it from your allergy pills? most pills don't finish the job because they don't relieve nasal congestion. flonase allergy relief is different. flonase relieves sneezing, itchy, watery eyes and a runny nose, plus nasal congestion, which pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. and 6 is greater than 1. start your day with flonase for more complete allergy relief. flonase. this changes everything. what'

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people who work at the v.a., people recruited by the v.a.o work there, there's an anxiety out there because of the politics played by the white house that jon tester and i and others are trying to sort out. don't put this whole operation in turmoil because president trump liked admiral jackson in his medical relationship. we're good, but check him out through the fbi, through the vetting process. call people who used to work for him, not just people who were his peers that were above him. he clearly treats his peers and those above him very well. how does he treat the people under him? we have seen that game. i have seen that in the senate with plenty onf people. >> let's move on to mick mulvan mulvaney. he had a meeting in front of the bankers association on tuesday and he said eyebrow raising things. let me read a portion of his statements to them. he told them, we had a hierarchy in my office in congress. if you're a lobbyist who never gave us money, i didn't talk to you. if you are a lobbyist who gave us money, i might talk to you. that

and v.a.bipartisan nature, which is a freak of nature in washington right now, because so much things are different, there's debate about what's the right kind of experience for a person to have to run an agency, that big, that important, that complicated. you had a business background, you're a veteran, what did the v.a. tell you about the best way to get prepared to do something that hard? >> i think president obama had it right. he chose me, historically, a republican, to be part of his democratic administration but he knew i ran a fortune 25 company around the world, lived around the world, worked in many cultures. but he knew i was a veteran, a west point graduate, an infantry officer and ranger. if the v.a. was a fortune 500 country, it would be number 9 in this count. i auditioned for 29 years before i became ceo of the proctor and gamble company. to think you can put a new ceo in every four years and think you can drive success, our veterans deserve better. >> robert mcdonald was secre

>> the fact that the v.a. health care system is a government run single payer bureaucratic health care system and doesn't work. one of the last reports talked about how the v.a. system in -- on average doctors have 1,200 cases. we have spent so much money on the v.a., and we have increased funding overall 2.3 times on health care spending, 1.5 and still a mess. >> what about the way it was done? the third person the president fired by twitter, just in the last -- >> not the way i would do it. >> this isn't the way to recruit good people to replace them, is it? >> it's not the way i would do it. >> you would under if people were like, i don't know if i want to take this job. >> the president does need to understand the effect it has on attracting other people. >> you think that this could lead to a drain? >> i'm concerned about all kinds of things, chuck. >> you seem to be hesitant. you seem to bes at t hesitant w your criticism. he seem annoyed with how he is doing some of the things. you hold back. why? >> i

i want the v.a. to stay in waitsnce but if a veteran too long or lives too far away from the facility, i want the thatte sector to fill in gap. admiral jackson has that same mentality. you need somebody to go into the v.a. willing to fight the bureaucracy. i think admiral jackson is a good pick. he's on the battlefield. like to get your weigh in on cabinet issues facing president trump. starting with his nominee for the v.a., dr. ronny jackson. do you have question about his nomination? >> you got questions only because the lack of experience. talked about in the round table, there's a lot about him that is not known. job of the white house now is to put all the information out there. full vetting.gh a i don't think anyone should say one way or another. such unknown. once we get into the background hearing, i think tall of that will come out and given the benefit of the doubt, he is nominee.ntial >> how about scott pruitt at epa, guzz he have to go? real trouble.s in i think there's a perception is n

the last thing you would need at the v.a. is distraction but i don't want to put words in your mouth. what would you do? >> well, the question is he going to be tough? i mean, the fact is. >> harris: how do you assess that? >> well, i think you have got to sit down with him in his testimony. the issue is he going to clean house or not? i mean, nobody has gone in there and given the current authorities to fire people, senior bureaucrats has not used that authority. is he going to use that authority to clean house for those bureaucrats that have documented failures through government accountability office reports, through v.a. office of inspector general reports. well documented failures. people haven't been fired. people that haven't been held accountable. is he going to do that? >> harris: right now the confirmation process is on hold for him. and i would ask then what should be happening in the interim? i know you say you want to reach out to him. >> sure. >> harris: what to make of these allegations and they are purely that

we were fixing the v.a.o many people it took their ability able to say we need to privatize the v.a. >> senator bernie sanders was on on yesterday and he said he thinks the v.a. will move in the direction of privatization. here he is. >> i would strongly suspect if you get rid of shulkin and put dr. jackson in, that is what his mission will be. i will do everything i can not to approve any nominee who is not going to strengthen the v.a. and who will oppose privatization. >> dr. shulkin, do you think that's the direction the v.a. will be moving in? >> i certainly hope not. i understand senator sanders concerns. look, we have bipartisan support, great leadership to make sure the v.a. is there for men and women who go off and protect our country. we have the veterans themselves, the veteran community who knows it is essential to have a strong v.a. you can work with the private tech sore. that's the direction i was moving in. it is essential that we work together and make this the very best that our veterans des

newly reported information tonight from multiple news sources about v.a. nominee ronnie jackson, currently the white house figures. he was a very surprised picked, to say the least, when the president fired his previous v.a. secretary and came time to pick a new one. new serious concerns raised by presidents in both parties tonight about admiral ronnie jackson. it looks like that nomination will be delayed. we'll have more on that, ahead. >>> but we're going to start tonight with the french president visiting washington today. emanuel macron and president trump they've had auction with you moments. i still find it almost impossible to watch the excruciating footage of the terrible death grip walking handshake where she each tried to prove possession of the bigger longer, grabbier handshake like where you written by giving the other guy cooties, or at least the willies. very, very awkward. there was also president trump's previous trip to france, which would its own awkwardness. so enthralled with the military parade, that he immediately cam home and starte

there are other v.a. facilities, for example, i know here in vermont that if you're dealing with a psychiatric crisis, emotional crisis you get in that day. that's pretty good. the v.a. does a lot of good things, it has problems, we have got to improve the v.a. but i think we've got to listen to the veterans of this country not privatize it. >> brennan: senator, you also sit on environment committee you've been harsh critic of the epa administrator scott pruitt, he is facing number of questions about ethics and these new reports that he rented residence here in washington, partly owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist whose firm did business with the epa. do you think your committee should hold hearings on this? >> i do. but i think the issue goes well beyond that problem. the issue goes to the fact that vast majority of people in this country understand climate change is real. it is already doing devastating problems throughout our nation and throughout the world. yet we have a president and a head o

it's chaos again after years of chaos at the v.a. this will be the seventh nominee for v.a./11. it's just this constant tumble. leadership, drama. it's taking its toll on our veterans, on the employees of the v.a. and on our national security. right now troops are watching overseas and they don't know who they'll come home to at the v.a. this is bigger than flicpolitic this is a conscious calling moment for america. >> does the iava take an official position for or against jackson? >> no. we're letting our members speak for themselves. you'll see a diversity opinions in that poll. they were all going to tune in on wednesday and see what happens. they're looking for people to hold them accountable. the chair and the ranking member isakson and tester are good guys. they're not partisans. they've been rigorous in this process. think jackson wil get a fair they'v been voices of tranquillity and bipartisanship in the senate, so we've got two good guys in fronthat can take us through these tough waters. >> where's your head on these current questions? is this a situation where, he

the v.a. faces newal gags of prescribing himself meds and drive ago vehicle and more on "the 11th hour. " hey, want the fastest internet? done. and now, xfinity mobile is included. you can get up to five lines. you can save 400 bucks or more a year, which you can spend on a funk-tastic music video. ♪ dance party boom. ♪ simple. easy. awesome. come see how you can save $400 or more a year with xfinity mobile. plus, ask how to keep your current phone. visit your local xfinity store today. play [music plays]his". when everything's connected, it's simple. easy. awesome. . >>> this is the personal attorney to the president of the united states for at least the last ten to 12 years. that same individual that the president appointed you, other members of the media and the american people for answers is refusing to provide the answers and claiming he can't answer the questions because the answers will inkrim that hicriminate hi. this is staggering development, it cannot be over exaggerated or overstat

as many of you know, the v.a.ecretary nominee, rear admiral ronnie jackson, withdrew his nomination yesterday. usa today's headline, v.a. shortfalls loom as jackson misses. and more investigation into rear admiral ronnie jackson as well. we also covered the judiciary committee, debating and voting on legislation that would prevent the president from firing special counsel robert mueller. it cleared the committee, but it is unlikely to get a vote on the senate floor. a story in the new york times. senator bob menendez is severely admonished by a senate ethics panel for accepting gifts, and he must repay them, is what the ethics panel had to say. some other news happening in washington. let's get in andrew, in fall river, massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning. on the north and south korea what, i think that trumpeted by acting crazy, lunatic like helps the situation , to at least-un get someone to, you know, to help them out. i am hoping what happens is a long, peaceful solution. it has always been the m

a little surprised, the v.a. top agencies that members, as much as they defer to a president to pick his own administration officials, they have a personal stake given the veterans in their district and what they hear from them. >> that's one of the few things every member of congress has in common. they go home to veteran constituents. thank you both for coming on to help explain this still moving story at this hour. coming up, let us not forget that at the center of this political fight over the v.a. are those veterans. all of whom volunteers to serve our country. and we'll also talk about the president who promised to help them once he took office. more on that when we continue. plaque psoriasis can be relentless. your plaques are always there at the worst times. constantly interrupting you with itching, burning and stinging. being this uncomfortable is unacceptable. i'm ready. tremfya® works differently for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. with tremfya®, you can get clearer and stay clearer. i

obviously the v.a. is the second largest agency, 300,000 people, that there are, according to senator tester, as many as 20 people that they have spoken to so far who have made some sort of allegations, and a number of them seem to be about his management of what is a very small office, frankly, in the white house. if there is problems managing a small office, how does he go about managing 300,000 people? >> the problems demonstrated with managing a small office creating a hostile or toxic work environment. if applied on a much larger scale could create much larger problems. and there are already problems in the v.a. that need to be addressed by the best possible health care to our veterans. we've been working hard on the v.a. committee to help reform the v.a. health care system, as well as employment and job training opportunities. but here is really the more fundamental point. there is an abject failure of vetting in this white house. i count more than 20 high-level nominees who have been forced to wi

there has never been a v.a. understands what our iraq and afghanistan veterans have gone through and the trauma they experienced and a they need for their transition than ronny jackson. that's the kind of attitude and experience that we need in a v.a. secretary. he can find managers to help him. we need urgency of fixing the v.a. to make sure we don't have people who served us in iraq and afghanistan and are suicidal because of ptsd and get told you have to wait six months to see a therapist. it's unacceptable. >> sandra: the white house is defending him. we'll see where it goes. >> bill: in a moment we go to the white house and bring in sarah sanders, the list is long for topics today live from the north lawn. do not miss that in nine minutes on "america's newsroom." >> sandra: what a day, what a week. a lot going on. meanwhile, the first ever state visit hosted by president trump is about to conclude. we expect macron will make his case for keeping troops in syria and staying in the iran nuclear deal at laoefl

this is the core difference between pruitt and say shulkin at the v.a. pruitt delivered results to the trump white house whereas vulgen was failing at the v.a. i think the president has to weigh the effectiveness of pruitt versus the optics of this. no one ha has been found to be doing anything illegal or unethical. richard accused him. there iss unfolding the investigation. but nobody has ultimately concluded he has done anything wrong no matter how bat bad the optics. scott do you have a maren -- amanda's mouth was just hit the floor when you said that. go ahead, amanda. >> well, like, here i worked in

you got to remember that previous v.a. secretaries, one was an arm a chief of staff, secretary mcdonald was the former ceo of procter & gamble and they faced a lot of serious challenges with this. you're going to take a guy who is the white house physician and never managed more than a few dozen people at a time in his life and throw him in that crucible. not only are you setting him up for failure butt 20 million veterans in america up for failure. >> do your other veteran friends work you say they agree with what you just said? >> well, i can't speak for everybody but i've talked to a lot of people -- >> i'm sure you're having conversations. >> right. i've talked to a lot of veteran friends. people are quite shocked he would receive the nomination. especially people who have worked there. you know what working there is like and you know the challenges that the v.a. secretaries face. he doesn't have the political experience, the policy experience. it would be very difficult for him to be successful in that environment. >>

>> that's correct. >>> a v.a. inspector report faulted shulkin for improperly accepting gifts and a detail about an overseas trip he took last year. trump claimed the firing wasn't about the bad headlines it was all about the veterans. >> i want to get them choice and they didn't give us choice. that's why i made some changes because i wasn't happy with the speed with which our veterans were taken care of. i wasn't happy with it. >> the formal head of the v.a. didn't go quietly. he claimed in multiple interviews that he'd been pushed out. >> i am very concerned about the future of v.a. and to make sure that this organization stays on track with the type of progress we've been making and that it's not hijacked and dismantled. >> i think that there are clear forces that are trying to suggest that a v.a. system is not necessary, that the private sector can handle all of the care for our veterans. >> here to share their reporting and their incites we've got michael sheer, car ren demurjion, margaret telov. thank you a

we provided a 10% increase for the v.a. in this budget. >> let's talk about the v.a.as you know -- do you think that dr. shulkin was fired or resigned? >> oh, i believe he was pushed out. i believe he was pushed out. i've dealt quite a bit with secretary shulkin. he's a very fine man and capable administrator. he was pushed out. >> if he was pushed out that means that the white house is breaking protocol, there's a law that if he's fired, if the secretary's fired, his deputy must replace him but that's not what's happening? >> well, not sure about that. i want to give secretary shulkin some credit here. i've worked with him. he's helped reduce backlogs. he has taken us down the road toward an integrated health record between the v.a. and the department of defense. we're making progress on that front. more veterans are being able to access care outside the v.a. system through choice, about 36%. so we made some progress and i really enjoyed working with him. he's a capable administrator. he's from pennsylvania. lived about 45 miles from me and he's well-known and well r

part of the problem with the v.a. and this is what i find, every american that wants our veterans treated with dignity and with the care that they deserve, having served our country. the problem is there are vast interests at the veterans within veterans affairs, within the veteran system. it's got a $200 billion annual budget. a lot of special interests that want to hang on to that power. they don't want anybody to shake it up. >> it's not just admiral jackson. he's gone through three fbi background checks, a senate hearing, a man up for his second start. none of these concerns were raised. i would assume as president trump came in, admiral jackson would have gone through another background check to stay on in his capacity in the white house. all of a sudden he comes up for a v.a. confirmation hearing. we have 24 individuals making accusations that are unfounded. see what they did to the director of the cia. top of his class at harvard law school. they malign him and call into with his ability. we hope that the confi

as you mentioned, all of our v.a. secretaries have had pretty much unanimous support from the committee. that's the least we should expect. and the way things are going, we're not going to get that with this nominee. >> just for the record, dr. jackson has served multiple presidents. president bush and president obama. and he's got an lot of glowing recommendations. three former v.a. secretaries have praised him as qualified. could they be wrong? >> yes. this kind of information can prove them all wrong. obviously if there have been adequate vetting, this information would have been made available to us much sooner than on practically the eve of his nomination hearing. which had to be postponed or cancelled. >> senator, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and we've got more on the cabinet controversies ahead. plus french president emanuel macron's trip to washington is about more than handshakes. their differences on iran were on full display today as president trump threatened iran. you might take something for your

his national security advisor his top economic adviser and the head of the v.a. what do you make of this. well i think president trump wants to put around him people that he agrees with and who agree with him i think he is certainly entitled to have his own cabinet his own set of advisors what i want to make sure of is that there are people there who are willing to give him their best advice even if it means running afoul of maybe what the president wants now i think that there are some good people who have been named in these positions i think among my pompei o is going to be a very good secretary of state gina has spoken as director of the cia larry kudlow as director of the s c we've talked about a lot of these people i think they will be strong people i think they'll be good leaders but it's very important for a president to have around him not just people who agree with him but people who disagree with him as well and i hope that these people will exercise those responsibilities when given the opportunity what do you think of his plans summit with conjunctio

the president will have to find a new v.a. nominee, and knowing trump, he's not going to search for a qualified person. he's just going to pick another guy who says nice things about him. so i guess what i'm saying is congratulations to the v.a. secretary, kanye west. we'll be right back. ( cheers and applause ) ♪ you're simply the best. ♪ better than all the rest ♪ applebee's new bigger bolder grill combos. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ it's about time they gave left and right twix® their own packs. they got about as much in common as you, a mortician, and me, an undertaker. (chuckling) or you, a janitor, and me, a custodian. (laughing) or you, a ghost, and me, a spirit. (laughing) left and right twix® packs. it's time to deside. that means it's time to tap back into your regular life. oh wow. your majesty, this isn't what we had in mind. well, it's probably better. perhaps it's time for you to go. if you upgrade, i could stay. well we already did... well i'll finish up here, then move into the master...

the president will have to find a new v.a. nominee, and knowing trump, he's not going to search for a qualified person. he's just going to pick another guy who says nice things about him. so i guess what i'm saying is congratulations to the v.a. secretary, kanye west. we'll be right back. ( cheers and applause ) ♪ i like it, i love it, ♪ i want some more of it. ♪ i try so hard, ♪ i can't rise above it ♪ don't know what it is 'bout that little gal's lovin'. ♪ applebee's new bigger bolder grill combos. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. surpri-- we got a laggy video call here.. you need verizon, the best network for streaming. trade ya. okay, people, that's a reset. let's take it back from "surpri--" (avo) get $300 off the samsung galaxy s9+. because unlimited is only as good as the network it's on. discpump, foam, hydrate care foaming body wash. new dove men + care foaming body wash doto be our next spokesperson?m he's so boring. hm. sounds like you're on the fence. why don't i just leave you my resume? yes, it's lamin

>>> the white house preparing for the possibility that president trump's embattled pick for the v.a. will withdraw his nomination. >>> the president's personal attorney michael cohen taking the fifth in the stormy daniels hush money case. >> we found the needle in the haystack. it was here in sacramento. >>> police say the arrest of the ex-cop ends a 40-year manhunt for the golden state killer. an entire generation of californians grew up in fear of this guy. >> what a fascinating case that has been for decades. >> good morning. i'm christine romans. welcome to "early start." >> i'm dave briggs. we both have dragon energy. i don't know what that means, but kanye does. >>> new this morning, white house officials are prepare for the possible -- preparing for the possible withdraw of the v.a. nomination ronny jackson. dr. jackson told colleagues he may remove his name from consideration. huddled on wednesday afternoon with white house press staff. >> and in a report from senate democrats reviewed an abusive to colleagues and loosely handled medications and wrecked a government car drunk

the v.a. needs. >>> defense jackson will need if he still wants to lead the department that serves more than 9 million veterans. >>> the big question we are asking today, is there anything jackson can do right now to get his nomination off life support? remember, it was candidate donald trump who sold himself to voters as the president who would protect the men and women who have fought for this country and that only he could fix what ailed the v.a. >> i love the vets. the vets are treated like fourth class citizens in this country. >> our vets are being treated worse than they've ever been. >> i will say this, i am with the veterans 100%. they're our greatest people. they're being treated terribly. >> we're going to take care of these people. okay? we're going to take care of them. >> and yet it was president trump who fired his former v.a. secretary after just a year and nominated dr. jackson via twitter. a president who just yesterday admitted his pick doesn't have the experience to run the

we got morale issues at the v.a. whoever's the v.a.retary does not need a bunch of baggage that will prevent them from doing the job. that's why the senate has to do their job. >> if ultimately you do hold hearings on dr. jackson, is there any way you could see yourself voting to confirm? >> we need to get the facts before i can make that statement, to be honest with you. there are other issues about budgeting and overseeing a big department like the v.a., but we need to get to the bottom of these first before i can address the others. >> is there any sign that the white house knew about any of these allegations that have come to like to your committee before dr. jackson was nominated? >> not that i'm aware of, not that i'm aware of, but what's interesting is that about a week ago we started getting calls from folks and we followed up on those calls about dr. jackson, and, you know, it's early in the process. the president puts the person out so people have a chance to think about it for a while before they pick up the phone or drop us

that's why we are fighting to reform the v.a. that's why we signed v.a.ccountability law into legislation -- legislation into law. they have and try to get that through for 30 years. accountability. we want accountability. they don't treat our vets good, we want them out. we could not do that before. that was a tough one get through and how we can get it through. and now we want choice. that is another when i wanted right from the beginning. we will get that done, too. i'm so happy with accountability. we have people that were terrible working there and they are gone. before, we could not do anything about them. we are very happy and we will have the finest choice program that you have ever seen. in fact, we turned down one program because we truly did not think it was good enough. we could have gotten it past. i said no, not good enough. we will go for the real deal. so there will be choice. no more waiting in line for 12 weeks and you can get the doctors, you can't get what you need. it will be all about choice. it will be a really good one. these folks

you talk about the responsibilities of the v.a. allegations came forward and all of them, you know, keep in mind there are multiple sources for the committee who has talked to two dozen. if they all went away, some senators have serious concerns about the fact that while he may be a praised doctor, ronny jackson doesn't have management experience to lend itself to the massive v.a. and the responsibility of protecting for the nation's veterans. just that alone is already in the back of senators' minds and when you add in the allegations, some stark of what he was doing when he was responsible for the president's health. they are remarkable. >> the democrats report breaks down three categories. prescription practices and drunkenness. hostile work environment. 23, mostly active duty, says he has a kiss up-kick down possible. when you listen to former obama officials, they are defending him. listen. >> i knew dr. jackson. in my experience, he was very professional and very courteous and under control. i never saw the behavior reported

another issue, madam president, the v.a. secretary. we just received word that the president's nomination to be the next secretary of the v.a. has withdrawn his nomination. the allegations swirling around the nomination of dr. jackson were troubling, raised lots of questions. but the real blame here falls on the administration for once again being sloppy and careless in the vetting process. dr. jackson didn't go through a careful vet, where some of these things might have been discovered beforehand and he wouldn't have had to go through the process that he went through. the veterans' committee did the right thing, and they didn't seek to go after jackson. people came to them. when people come to them, particularly military folks, with serious and troubling allegations, they have an obligation to investigate. and i want to salute chairman isakson and ranking member tester for pursuing those allegations. it is -- dr. jackson went through a maelstrom, and he should tell his patient, i guess, the president, that he -- the president -- is w

this came from within like the v.a. people on the inside trying to smear the reputation of this find doctor this admiral with no regard with what it would do to his reputation, career, and life. phaseless, nameless. not came forward. this is about protecting other people that want to preserve their job within the v.a. so this is the swamp at its murkiest disgusting worst. >> juan: you can't say that the american legion is part of the swamp. >> kimberly: i'm not referring to the american legion. >> juan: i mean like 20% of the veterans said they don't approve of this. >> kimberly: i'm not talking that's approval question not specific allegation question. >> juan: this is why we don't have good people in d.c. working you get smeared or you have to have political experience. >> greg: but you have to be a certain person if you are nominated in republican administration a better person than if you were nominated in a democratic administration. if you are in republican it's two against one. in a democratic administration the

the summary today of allegations against the would-be head of the v.a. is wide ranging, but also brutally concise. the last line, at a secret service going away party, admiral jackson got drunk and wrecked a government vehicle. >>> now, nbc news talked to ronny jackson about that today. he says he has never wrecked a car. we checked with d.c. police. they say they do have two accident reports on file involving ronny jackson. one in 2013 and one in 2016, but we don't have any other information at all about those accidents or what caused them or how he was involved. we are still trying to find out more about that. we will keep you posted on that if we learn it. the white house for itsz part spent the day defending ronny jackson, reportedly pushing the senate to reschedule his confirmation hearing. but they are not making it easy for the senators who are in charge of this nomination going along if it's gonna. trying to give his nomination a boost last night, the white house gave reporters a stack of reports about ronny jackson's time working in the white ho

so we can get a v.a.e needs of our veterans. >> so tester there saying they're looking to get somebody into that position who has been thoroughly vetted. president trump hinting he knows who he wants to be his next pick to lead the v.a. he wouldn't say who but says they have political capabilities. we are following that. following developments on capitol hill and the white house and we're also following developments in new york. just a couple of minutes ago, the president's personal attorney, michael cohen was spotted leaving his hotel up in manhattan. attorneys for cohen, for the president, and for the trump organization will be back in court today. cohen takes off for maybe that meeting, maybe another one for a hearing about the materials seized from his office and fbi raids earlier this month. the criminal investigation in the southern district of new york is prompting cohen to plead the fifth in a separate civil suit brought against him the president by stormy daniels. cohen, of course, is at the cent

so this was -- an era for the v.a. plagued by palace backfighting, ideological warfare and second guessing to the point where whoever this guy was, it was made untenable for him to be kept in that position. >> so, jeff, final question. you here, obviously no firings or resignations over the weekend. because that does sometimes happen in these two days or so. however, there is word scott pruitt can feasibly be the next person on the chopping block. what are you hearing? >> look, scott pruitt is certainly keeping ethics officials at the epa fairly busy. it's not just a question about that apartment lease he got last year. also questions about his over reliance on pricey first-class air tickets and his use of a 24/7 security detail, which is fairly unusual for someone in his position, but scott pruitt has a bit more job security for two reasons according to people close to the president. one, given all of the volatility and personnel changes going on right now, the president apparently is reluctant to add one more opening

i mean, i talked to people thatk t the cincinnati v.a., or the dayton v.a., or the community-based clinics in ohio, and they tell you we just want a v.a. that has got a stae management, that does predictable things, instead of this chaos with no end in sight, as dr. jackson continues ndto fl and people keep asking questions that the white house never asked. >> yang: you said the white house never asked. do you have a question about-- concerns about how well thee whuse is vetting some of these nominees? >> well, i'm concerned that they're veth at all. from my observations up close-- i have been in the white house a number of times.ed i've wathem up close. i've seen their nomination process up pretty close-- i mean, i'm not at the white house watching them do the nominations, but what happens is the president has an idea of somebody, usually based on hekeability and loyalty-- loyalty topresident, not necessarily to the people this cabinet agency person might-- person they might serve, like the veterans. ae likes them, he finds them loyal, he says hets to nominate them, and they move without

it is who is going to be there to protect the independents of the v.a. i don't want to see a v.a.hat is privatized. and all three of my older brothers, military service and all three veterans. i get a very first-hand look at how important the veterans administration is to our veterans and we need to keep it funded and we need to keep it strong and we need to keep it independent and not privatized. >> senator elizabeth warren, thank you. appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> i want to continue this conversation with the panel. stay with me. we'll take this quick break. we'll be right back. today, 97% of employers agree that skills like teamwork, attention to detail, and customer service are critical to business success. like the ones we teach here, every day. looking for a hotel that fits... critical towhoooo.ss success. ...your budget? tripadvisor now searches over... ...200 sites to find you the... ...hotel you want at the lowest price. grazi, gino! find a price that fits. tripadvisor. anna and a little nervous. into retirement... but not so much about what market volatility may do to

[applause] that's why we're fighting to reform the v.a. that is why we signed v.a. accountability legislation into law. i want to thank you folks. that's been -- they've been trying to get that through for over 30 years. accountability. we want accountability. they don't treat our vets good, we want them out. that's what we can do now. we couldn't do it before. that was a tough one to get through. we got it through. now we're going for choice. we're going to get choice. that's another one that i wanted from the beginning. we'll get that done, too. so i'm so happy with accountability. it's been working on so long. we have people that were terrible working they're and they're gone. before we couldn't do anything about them. but we're very happy. we're going to have the finest choice program that you've ever seen. we turned down one program because we truly didn't think it was good enough. is that right? we couldn't have gotten it passed. i said nope, we're going for the real deal. we're going to have choice. no more waiting in lines for 12 weeks. you can't get the doc